NEWARK, NJ — Acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino announced June 27 that two Atlantic County men were sentenced to more than 100 years in New Jersey State Prison for murdering three people in Maplewood.
On June 26, Superior Court Judge Richard T. Sules sentenced Jimmy Mays, 35, of Egg Harbor, to 153 years in prison and Lavelle Davis, 38, of Galloway, to 138 years in prison for killing and torturing Lance Frasier, 44, of Newark and murdering Roshana Kelson, 30, of Paterson and Michael Davis, 45, of Maplewood. An unidentified, unindicted co-conspirator was never charged.
All three were killed in Michael Davis’ home at 38 Van Ness Court in Maplewood in January 2017. The defendants, who knew the victims, but were not related, came to Michael Davis’ home looking for drugs and cash. They killed Michael Davis and Kelson, who were sleeping, and tortured Frasier before also killing him. All three were fatally shot.
When family members were unable to reach the victims, Maplewood firefighters went to the home to make a wellness check. That is when they discovered the victims’ bodies.
Both men were convicted by an Essex County jury of conspiracy, murder, felony murder, burglary, robbery, criminal restraint and multiple weapons offenses. Assistant Prosecutor Carlo Fioranelli tried the case with Assistant Prosecutor Sean Dickson.
At sentencing, Fioranelli urged the judge to impose consecutive life sentences for each of the three murders saying it was warranted given the facts of the case. Sules agreed and imposed a 46-year sentence for all three counts of murder in Lavelle Davis’ case and 51-year sentence for all three counts of murder in Mays’ case. Under the No Early Release Act, they must serve 85 percent of their respective sentences before being eligible for parole.
Lavelle Davis had two prior felony convictions before being convicted of the triple murder; he had been convicted of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and aggravated assault. Mays has four prior felony convictions; he had been previously convicted of possession of a narcotics, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and jumping bail.
“No punishment will ever compensate the Kelson, Frasier and Davis families for their tragic losses. I hope the sentence imposed today gives the families some sense of justice in this horrific situation and that the families continue to heal following the heartbreaking and untimely loss of loved ones,” Fioranelli said.
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